You will know that the greatest football result lies in Arbroath where the local team beat Bon Accord 36-0, in a Scottish FA Cup tie. 18 miles away on the same day, Dundee Harp beat Aberdeen Rovers in the Scottish Cup 1st Rd winning 35-0, although the ref thought it was 37.
I presume you know where the island of St Helena is? It is the second oldest UK overseas' territory after Bermuda, 5 miles by 2 miles in size with a population of 4,500 approx. way south in the Atlantic.
Napolean was occupied there in 1502, when it was under the control of the Portuguese.
Between May and November on the only pitch (Francis Plain) on the island, football takes place in a seniors' league (8 teams) and a juniors' league.
The following teams compete: Axis, Rovers, Saints, Wirebirds, Harts, Lakers and Crystal Rangers. The reason for my venturing into the Atlantic Ocean is that recently Rovers beat Crystal Rangers 36-0, a record score for the island and one that equals the Scottish FA Cup result from 12th September 1885 noted above. Rico Benjamin scored 15.
As not yet a member of FIFA, the St Helena FA was founded in 1920, but did venture to Britain to play in the Inter Island Games in June 2019. The lads played a friendly against Holyhead Hotspurs Reserves, winning 2-0 and lost to local Ynys Mon FC 2-7. In the tournament hosted by Anglesey (an island of course), they lost to Shetland 1-6, Guernsey 0-9 and the Western Islands 1-2. But it is all down to experience.
Back to the Bon Accord Football team, only founded in 1884, had links with the Orion Cricket Club. One sport creates another.
"Bon Accord" refers to the storming of Aberdeen Castle during the Wars of Independence.
Arbroath FC was only 7 years old at the time of the tie, but they over ran the Bon Accord lads and were 15-0 up at half time. There was no mercy shown, apart from the referee David Stormont, who disallowed 5 goals for a variety of reasons. The Arbroath goalie, Jim Milne Snr, did not touch the ball in play and spent most of the afternoon sheltering under an umbrella.
18 year old John Petrie scored 13 goals. Previously Arbroath had scored 9 goals in Rd 2 beating Forfar Athletic, then met Dundee East End winning 7-1 in Rd 2, then they met Hibernians and lost 3-5. Overall, Arbroath totalled 55 goals in their Cup run.
Back in St Helena, the islanders are hoping to feature in the Guernsey International Islands Games from July 3-9th 2021. They just need finances.
In other sports, the island supports the SH Turf Club with the Deadwood Horses event, run each year, since 1818.
They send teams to the Commonwealth Games, there is the IIGA mentioned before, International Cricket played in Africa in the "World Cricket League" in 2012 and a Cape Town to St Helena, Yacht Race, the Governer's Cup.
And of course, Baden Powell, the founder of the scout movement and an Old Carthusian (Charterhouse Old Boy) visited the island during his 1937 tour.
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